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DR. LAUREN MOSS
D. Litt et Phil (Psychology ) UJ; MA (Psych) RAU;
BA Honours (Psychology) UNISA; BA UNISA
Counselling Psychologist
HPCSA Number: PS 0094412
Practice Number: 086000 0225002
My journey with psychology began 14 years ago when I began to study psychology at undergrad level. I completed my training as a Counselling Psychologist at the then Rand Afrikaans University, now the University of Johannesburg.
 Before my formal training was complete I had spent many years working in the fields of trauma and sexual abuse volunteering and working for a community based trauma counselling program run by the Midrand Graduate Institute. I was also a founding member of the Open Disclosure Foundation, an organisation formed to create a safe and accepting space for victims of sexual abuse to tell their stories and hopefully begin the process of becoming survivors. Working for Open Disclosure allowed me the privilege of working with amazing women who had endured the pain of sexual abuse.
Working with sexual abuse survivors encouraged me to want to further understand the psychological impact sexual abuse and rape has on a woman. This interest culminated in both Masters and Doctoral research into the psychological impact of rape. I hope to use the knowledge gained to continue to help women who have been exposed to the pain of sexual abuse. My intention is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge regarding the therapeutic treatment of sexual abuse survivors.
My formal training as a Counselling Psychologist allowed me to practice psychotherapy from a collaborative perspective, meaning that I believe psychotherapy is a space where the therapist and the client share their respective bodies of knowledge, mine of psychology and the clients of themselves, in order to achieve mutually agreed goals.
I completed my internship at the University of Johannesburg’s Student Counselling unit, the focus of the training being mostly on psychotherapy and career counseling. After I finished my internship I worked full time at the Open Disclosure Foundation, running the counseling activities. After a year working in the NGO, I returned to the University of Johannesburg and continued my work with students. In 2008, the student counselling centre expanded it services to include psychological services offered to the public. I then took on the role as Team Leader of Therapeutic Services, where I contributed to the implementation and managing of various programs, such as support groups, psychosocial action campaigns and training of intern Social Workers. I also implemented and ran the University’s 24 Hour Crisis Line, a telephonic counseling service to students of staff of the university. This project has further grown my interest and experience in working with trauma.
While working at the university I have been able to improve my professional skills by attending various training programs. These include: Clinical Hypnosis, EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), accredited use of the MBTI (Meyers Briggs Type Indicator), Narrative Career Counselling and Positive Psychology. I have been a supervisor to Intern Psychologists for two years, an experience that was both challenging and enjoyable.
I embarked on full time private practice in 2010. A journey which has brought much personal and professional growth. While in private practice I have been able to attend further professional development, attending advanced clinical hypnosis training as well as developing Mindfulness practices for myself personally as well as in professional practice.
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